Niichan
by Gardeners Grow Love
Summary: A look at Yuugi and Yami's relationship during daily life. It's not too boring, sometimes even funny. R + R
1. Day One

Hi everyone. I'm really new here at Fanfic.net, so go easy on me. Trying to be a budding writer so I REALLY need all the feedback I can get! Go ahead and flame me (just don't burn me to a crisp!). Positive feedback would be preferable. All you great fanfic writers out there, write me with suggestions please! E-mail's petite_hikari@hotmail.com. Oh, btw, I'm going away for the next three weeks, so I won't be able to check out all your reviews (hint hint, nudge nudge) until then. Please enjoy ^^  
  
First Day Two silhouettes could be seen against the dawn sky in Domino City, both short and with large spiky hair. The taller of the two was carrying a suitcase and a backpack while the shorter one struggled with another piece of luggage. Grandson and grandpa walked in silence, taking in the coolness of the morning before the heat wave of summer washed over the city. The Motous were headed towards the Domino City Airport. They were an hour early for Sugoroku's flight to Egypt. It was five o'clock in the morning and Yuugi tried to stifle a huge yawn. His grandpa smiled as he watched the boy's violet eyes droop asleep then snap open.  
  
"Yuugi, you didn't have to come see me off. I could've just taken a cab."  
  
Yuugi smiled. "Of course I have to see you off, grandpa. You're going away for a week, after all. Now, take care of yourself. Remember the doctor said to take the red pills every night and to drink at least three cups of tea. Oh, better make that four cups, since you are going to be going to Egypt and it gets really hot there. Are you sure you have enough sunscreen?"  
  
"Don't worry so much about your old man, Yuugi! I'm old enough to take care of myself." The old man grinned. That was his grandson, always the thoughtful one. "Besides, I'll be spending most of the time inside at the convention."  
  
"I wish I could go with you," said Yuugi wistfully.  
  
"So do I." Sugoroku reached over to ruffle the boy's hair. "But you can't miss those end-of-the-year exams." He laughed as Yuugi wrinkled his nose and pouted.  
  
"I promise I'll bring back a souvenir." Yuugi's eyes danced with interest. The combination of Egypt and a Duel Monsters tournament was definitely going to yield some interesting surprises. However, he knew that nothing would be more surprising than the Millennium Puzzle his grandpa had given him. The puzzle had been challenging to put together, but the most challenging part of the present had been Yami. The younger boy still couldn't quite figure out the ancient spirit, although they had become fast friends after the adventure in the Duelist Kingdom.  
  
Arriving at the airport, the two Motous checked in the two pieces of luggage and made their way to the terminal, where the plane was getting ready to take off. There was still ten minutes until take-off, so Sugoroku bought a coffee for himself and a bagel for Yuugi. They sat down on the gray plastic chairs.  
  
"You'll be okay by yourself for a week, right?"  
  
Yuugi swallowed the mouthful of bagel. "Don't worry about me, grandpa. I can take care of myself."  
  
"Just making sure. You know where the emergency numbers are. Don't hesitate to call a friend over if you need to. Microwave dinners are in the fridge-"  
  
"Grandpa, I can cook."  
  
"Well, just in case you don't want mac and cheese every day. Just kidding, just kidding," the old man laughed when he saw the indignation on Yuugi's face. "I know you're a terrific cook. Just be careful when you use the stove. Oh, and no going out with friends before you finish your homework." The boy groaned good-humoredly.  
  
"I guess that's it," Sugoroku said, draining the last bit of coffee and throwing the cup away. He brushed a crumb off Yuugi's face and hugged his grandson.  
  
"Take care, Yuugi. I'll call everyday."  
  
"Have fun, jiichan. You take care too."  
  
Yuugi watched as his grandpa disappeared into the terminal. Exhaling a deep breath, he smiled and turned to exit the airport. It was seven and the traffic had just started to pick up. Politely refusing the taxis lined up outside the airport, Yuugi walked the two blocks back to the Turtle Game Shop to pick up his schoolbag, then walked another half block to the park where he usually met Anzu to walk to school. He was early. She had not arrived yet, so he leaned against a park bench to wait. Aside from some seniors engrossed in early-morning taichi nearby, there was no one else in the park. He absently fingered the solid gold puzzle around his neck. The puzzle glowed softly and with a flash, Yuugi felt his darker half emerge. Dressed in customary black leather buckle shirt and blue overcoat, Yami was draped lazily across the park bench. The former pharaoh tensed momentarily, stretching.  
  
"Aibou, you wake up way too early."  
  
Yuugi chuckled. "It's already 7:30."  
  
"My point exactly."  
  
"It's hardly early. You're just a sleepy-head." Yami looked at the younger boy in amusement, then sprung up from the park bench and put his aibou into a headlock.  
  
"Hey, cut it out! It took a lot of gel to get the hair right this morning." Yami gave one last ruffle and let the smaller boy go. The two spike-haired youths sat down on the bench, Yuugi still trying to straighten out his untamable hair. A plane passed overhead.  
  
"Well, jiichan's gone for a week to Egypt," Yuugi said, with a hint of sadness.  
  
"So you're going to be home alone?"  
  
"I'm not going to be by myself. I have you." They both smiled. "Since jiichan won't be around, you can come out as often as you like." Sugoroku still had not met his grandson's other half; there just had never been the proper occasion to introduce the two and with his grandpa still recovering from his hospital ordeal, Yuugi thought it would be better to wait until at least after the convention. Yami had respected his decision, although he felt that his hikari's jiichan had already deduced his existence. After all, Sugoroku had found the puzzle.  
  
"Besides, I'm old enough to take care of myself."  
  
"Yuugi!" The smaller boy leapt up to greet Anzu, then promptly tripped on a rock and fell. Right away, Yami was by his side helping him up.  
  
"Yuugi, are you all right?" Anzu asked.  
  
//Are you sure you can take care of yourself?// Yami questioned.  
  
Yuugi frowned. Why did everyone treat him like a little kid? "I'm fine," he said curtly as he got to his feet. "Thanks," he added, feeling he was being rude. They started to walk towards Domino High, Yami following long enough to greet Anzu then returning back to the puzzle. The two teens were soon joined by Jonouchi and Honda. The four chatted about homework and Duel Monsters all the way to school.  
  
"Hey, look what I got yesterday, Yuug." Jou dug into his pocket and pulled out a card.  
  
"Wow! That's a Tri-Horned Dragon!" Everyone crowded around to take a look. The blue dragon had lustrous yellow claws and the unmistakable three horns protruding from its head. The elusive tri-horned dragon was a legendary duel monster. Everyone knew of its existence, but no one had ever found one before. That was, until now. Jou cradled the card lovingly.  
  
"Yeah, I couldn't believe my luck! I was walking home yesterday from the arcade and bumped into this guy. He said he was selling Duel Monster cards real cheap and told me to take a look. Well, I was leafing through his collection when I came across this! I guess he didn't know what he had; he sold it to me for a couple hundred yen!"  
  
"Wow, what a steal," intoned a soft British accent. Ryou Bakura had wandered over to see what the commotion was about and his brown eyes were as wide as saucers as he stared at the card.  
  
//I hope he doesn't mean that literally,// said Yami sarcastically. //Grave robbers aren't the most trustworthy of people.//  
  
/Yami, it's just a figure of speech. Besides, Ryou is too polite to steal anything./  
  
//Yami Bakura isn't. Jou's Tri-Horned Dragon is an exceptional find.//  
  
/Yeah, I guess it'll be a lot harder to be Jou now./  
  
//Still, it doesn't seem quite right that he got it so easily.//  
  
/Maybe he caught a lucky break./  
  
"Hey Yuug, snap out of it. It's so freaky when you talk to Yami, you look all spaced out." Yuugi blinked as Jou waved a hand over his face.  
  
"Sorry about that." Bakura and Jou continued to discuss the virtues and weaknesses of the new card while Yuugi pondered his darker half's suspicions. Yami's intuition was usually exceptionally keen so it was always wise to heed his warnings.  
  
The rest of the day passed uneventfully, more peacefully than usual since Kaiba was absent. The teenage millionaire was often away on business so it was not unusual that he was missing that day. Since it was almost end-of- term exams, the teachers were letting their classes study during the entire duration of the block. Since Jou was spending more time admiring his new card than studying, he got a half-hour detention, to be served after school.  
  
"Man, this stinks," griped Jou as he slammed his locker door shut. "It's inhuman to punish someone for wanting to look at their new card. For Christ sake, how can anyone not feast their eyes on the Tri-Horned Dragon?!"  
  
Honda rolled his eyes. "The card's not going to help you write a 1000-word essay, baka."  
  
"The Tri-Horned Dragon is an omen. I can feel it, I'm gonna ace the finals no problem." Jou flashed his trademark grin.  
  
"Not if you write like how you duel."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Jou, Honda just wants to make sure you do okay on the finals," Anzu reasoned, closing her own locker and hefting her backpack.  
  
"Tell you what, Jou. You can come over to my house after detention and I can help you study. At least this way, you can scrape by with a pass," Honda offered.  
  
"Wait a minute! You're the one who needs help with physics, not me."  
  
"Well, at least I'm not relying on some three-horned lizard to help me solve equations."  
  
"I resent that. You'd better apologize to my card now." The two taller boys walked down the hall, still bickering. Yuugi and Anzu smiled.  
  
"They both need help if you ask me. mental help," Anzu joked as they walked out of the school. They both laughed.  
  
"Jou's really into his new card though. Is it really that rare?" wondered Anzu aloud.  
  
"Definitely! It's one of the rarest cards in Duel Monsters. I've never seen one in anyone's deck. In fact, the only time I saw one was at Kaibaland and that card was under glass display and heavily guarded. Although," Yuugi frowned, "I thought the display said that there was only one card known to exist."  
  
"That's odd. Then how could Jou get a hold of one?"  
  
"I don't know, but Yami said it didn't feel quite right to him either. It's something to look into." The two split ways at the park. Anzu headed towards Burger World while Yuugi had to return straight to the Turtle Game Shop to look after the store. Unlocking the door, he stepped inside the small room wall-papered with stacks of Duel Monster cards and layered with various other games. The boy flipped the open sign to announce business, then dropped his bag by the counter and sunk onto the stool behind it. Yami materialized with a soft glow and leaned across the counter.  
  
"Hey Yuugi, how was school?"  
  
"Really tiring and I still have a ton of homework. Thank goodness the shipment of new cards is arriving tomorrow. I'm not up to unpacking today." Yuugi laid his forehead on the glass counter and closed his eyes. Studying really sapped a lot of energy, especially since he had forgotten to eat lunch. Yami disappeared into the back of the store and re-emerged with a plate of rice-balls.  
  
"Thanks Yami." Yuugi's stomach growled, making the smaller boy blush. "I guess I didn't realize how hungry I was." He dug into the snack hungrily. "Do you want some?" he asked between bites.  
  
"No thanks, aibou, I don't eat."  
  
"Try some, they're delicious. It's lotus seed filling, my favorite." Yuugi handed his darker half a rice ball, which Yami hesitantly bit into. Yuugi grinned as Yami finished his and reached for another one. After the two boys had finished, Yuugi spread his homework out on the counter while Yami turned on the television. The former pharaoh was still intrigued by the wonders of modern technology, especially how television managed to fit so many people into such a small box. The luxury of being able to command when he wanted to watch reminded him of the privileges he had enjoyed as a pharaoh. Entertainment was always a wish away. Every so often, he would help Yuugi with a math problem; though they first had to sort out the confusion of whether to use Arabic numerals or hieroglyphics. In the end, they compromised on using hieroglyphic numbers and Arabic functions. Yuugi just hoped that Fuji-sama would not check his work- he didn't feel like explaining to his teacher how he had arrived at the correct answer using sticks and dots. After three hours of solid studying, Yuugi pushed aside the work and leaned back on the stool. So this was what frazzled nerves felt like.  
  
Yuugi's stomach noisily announced its need to be fed, causing Yami to raise an eyebrow. "I guess it's time for dinner, ne," Yuugi said, his cheeks burning. "Why don't you close up shop and I'll whip up something for us to eat." The younger boy went to the back and rummaged through the kitchen. Half an hour later, the game shop was closed and Yami walked into the small living room, where Yuugi had set two places at the table and was currently stirring a pot at the stove.  
  
"What are you making, aibou?"  
  
"My specialty, spaghetti!" He poured the sauce over the pasta and sat down at the table. "Come on, dig in." To his astonishment, Yami felt hungry for the first time in five millennia. As a physical manifestation, he guessed that he needed to feed his body. Shrugging, he grabbed some noodles onto his plate.  
  
"Here Yami, you use this. It's called a fork. You wrap the spaghetti around it like this." Yuugi demonstrated with his own portion then ladled sauce on both plates. Seeing Yami eat spaghetti was hilarious. The noodles kept slipping off his fork and the intense concentration on the game king's face made the situation more hilarious. After finally finishing the meal and washing up the dishes, the two boys sat down on the couch to watch the news.  
  
".another break-in has occurred, this time on the outskirts of Domino City, in the amusement park known as Kaibaland." Two sets of ears perked up in interest. "Several rare and valuable Duel Monster cards were stolen. Strangely enough, security cameras did not detect any intruders. A reward of a million yen is offered by owner Seto Kaiba for information leading to the arrest of the culprit and return of the stolen cards. And now, we break for the weather."  
  
Yami's eyes narrowed. "Aibou, I don't think it's a coincidence that Jou happened get the Tri-Horned Dragon after the break-in."  
  
"Jou would never steal!" Yuugi adamantly defended his friend.  
  
"No, but he obviously bought the card from the black market, knowingly or unknowingly. That could get him into trouble."  
  
"I'd better call to tell him!" Ten phone calls later, a very irritated and drunken voice told Yuugi to stop calling. He winced and hung up. "I can't get a hold of Jou."  
  
"It's alright, aibou. You'll see him at school tomorrow."  
  
"Aren't you coming with me?"  
  
"No," Yami smirked. "I.need to check up on something. Now, I think it's time for you to go to bed." Yuugi groaned, then knew better than to argue with his yami. He went to change, then emerged in a pair of light blue pajamas with chibi Dark Magicians.  
  
"Good night, Yami. Don't stay up too late." Yuugi gave the game king a quick hug then went to his bedroom, leaving Yami sitting on the couch criticizing how historically inaccurate The Mummy with Brendan Fraser was. 


	2. Day Two

Hi everyone! Arigatou SO MUCH for all your wonderful reviews. It means the world to me. *Sniff, sniff* I'll do my best to write as well as I can (so much pressure now!). Unfortunately, I'll be away for the next three weeks (in China*~), but I wanted to post up ¾ of the second chapter before I go. Please review, although I won't be able to read your comments until I get back (or until I claw my way to a computer ^^) Thank you so much again, minna-san! (hope I got all the Japanese right =) I learned it all from reading fanfic. Hehe, who says fanfic can't be educational?)  
  
BTW- I do not own Yu-gi-oh. although I very much wish I had a bf like Yami. Hmm... actually, he's just a tad too old, don't you think? Five millennia is a bit of a generation gap.  
  
Day Two  
  
Yuugi woke up to the sound of glass breaking. Glancing quickly at his alarm clock, he saw that it was only 4:30 AM. He heard another crash, then leapt out of bed and inched his way out into the dark kitchen. /Yami?/ The air pressure changed slightly behind him but before Yuugi could turn around, he was knocked to the ground by a hard shove. Struggling up, he could discern a figure disappearing down the street, followed by another shadow, which he guessed to be Yami by the looks of his hair.  
  
Picking himself up painfully, he felt his way to the front of the store in the dark, then switched on the light. Oh no, Yuugi thought. And grandpa hasn't even been gone for a day. The game shop floor was littered with slivers of broken glass and the front door was broken. The formerly neat displays of Duel Monster cards now looked like scattered leaves. He yelped as he stepped on some broken glass. Great, now he would have to clean the bloodstain too. Returning from the kitchen with a band-aid on the cut and slippers on his feet, Yuugi surveyed the damage. First things first, clean up the glass. Sighing, he grabbed a broom and began to sweep up the splinters when Yami returned.  
  
"What happened?!"  
  
"Someone broke into the game shop. I tried chasing them, but I lost them in the park." His boots crunched on the glass.  
  
"Careful, or you'll cut yourself!"  
  
"Here," Yami said, reaching for the broom, "I'll clean up the glass and you take care of the merchandise." Yuugi obediently handed the broom to the taller boy and proceeded to salvage the cards. He hid his slight frown from his aibou. He was responsible enough to clean up the glass; he wasn't some little kid anymore, why did everyone treat him like one? Glancing at Yami, he sighed. They just cared about him. But that didn't help with the bitter gnaw of resentment.  
  
"Yami, I have some good news and some bad news." The game king looked up.  
  
"Bad news first."  
  
"I think the thief took some rare cards. I can't find the Red Eyes Black Dragon and a bunch of others."  
  
"Kuso."  
  
"Good news is that we have insurance so we could probably fix the window by tomorrow. In the meantime, I guess we'll just have to close the store up."  
  
"You should call jiichan."  
  
"No!" Yami stopped sweeping. "No," Yuugi said more calmly. "I.I don't want to worry him, that's all. It's only a break-in and there's no point in making jiichan come all the way back from Egypt just for this." Yami gave his hikari a look, then went back to his sweeping. He wasn't sure Yuugi's judgment was for the best, but he felt that his light was right in not making Sugoroku come back so soon. There was, however, something that Yuugi wasn't telling. The two boys worked on in silence as the dawn broke into rays of light that brushed the inside of the Turtle Game Shop.  
  
Yuugi tried to stifle his yawn and not trip over his feet as he walked to school later that morning with Anzu. Thankfully, his companion was chatting animatedly about her dance lessons, leaving him only the job of half-listening and struggling to keep his eyes open. Waking up so early two days in a row was not healthy. He wondered fuzzily how he would stay awake in math class. Lucky Yami, he was probably catching a wink at home.  
  
"Hmm, I wonder where Jou and Honda are today," wondered Anzu as they approached the school. Her thought went unanswered as they found Jou surrounded by blue-uniformed police officers. Honda was talking heatedly with a very vexed Kaiba. Anzu and Yuugi rushed over to the scene.  
  
"I tell you, he just found the card! I was with him all day two days ago so he couldn't have stolen your card." Honda had never been so angry as he shouted at Kaiba.  
  
"He still needs to be taken for questioning." Seto's cool exterior had yet to crack.  
  
"What's going on here?" Both of the taller boys broke their arguing.  
  
"Kaiba is trying to arrest Jou for stealing his cards!" Kaiba glared icily at the group.  
  
"Your friend needs to be taken in for questioning. He has not yet been accused of anything, if you had just heard anything I said." A faint note of irritation crept into the monotone voice. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have urgent business to attend to." The tall millionaire then turned heels and headed towards the police cruisers, snapping his fingers at the policemen. The officers quickly escorted Jou into one of the waiting cars as his friends looked helplessly. The door slammed and the blond-haired youth was sped away, glaring at the back of Kaiba's head all the way down the street. Honda gritted his teeth and turned his knuckles white from clenching his hands into fists.  
  
"There's no way Jou would've stolen anything!"  
  
"We know, Honda," Yuugi agreed softly. Anzu put a comforting hand on the tense youth. The trio stood there in a pool of shock and anger as the school bell announced their lateness. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
The young CEO of Kaiba Corp. could feel the hot daggers of Jou's glare on the back of his head, but he was accustomed to such reactions; after all, the business world was a ruthless one. Underneath the professional shell of his exterior, he felt a boiling rage inside. Several of his rarest cards had been stolen. Not only was he irked that the security system he had personally designed had failed, he felt as if he had been violated. Duel Monsters were his passion and his cards were like a part of his soul. His very being could not rest in peace until it had recovered part of its own again.  
  
"So, where ya taking me?"  
  
"Police station," came the gruff and curt reply.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Questioning."  
  
"Why do you need to ask me more questions? I told you everything I know already."  
  
The officer driving the cruiser sighed. He hated talkative suspects. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may and will be used against you in court."  
  
"I ain't got no lawyer anyway. And I'm not going to court. I didn't do anything wrong-"  
  
"I suggest you listen to him and be quiet." Jou dug his fingernails into the worn blue covering of the car seat and continued in his attempt to maim Kaiba with a laser glare. The ride continued in thick silence until they reached the station. Jou found himself in a small badly-lit room with a table and two chairs. Sitting opposite to him was the balding police officer. Kaiba was standing in the shadows in the back corner of the room, his blue eyes the only part of him Jou could see. Great, I'm stuck in an episode of Cops now. All for buying a card!  
  
"Full name please."  
  
"Why? You already know it, you even have my file." Joey indicated to the bulging brown file in front of the officer.  
  
"For the record." The officer jerked a thumb at the tape recorder beside the file.  
  
"Oh. Katsuya Jounouchi. But my friends call me Jou."  
  
"Answer just the question. Where were you two days ago?"  
  
"I was over at my buddy's Honda. We were studying." Kaiba raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Can this be verified?"  
  
"Sure, just ask any of my friends. Though, don't tell them I was studying. No offense or nothing, I have a reputation to keep."  
  
"Again, answer just the question."  
  
Geez, don't these guys ever lighten up?  
  
"Were you aware of the break-in that occurred at Kaibaland two days ago?"  
  
"I heard a couple of rumors here and there but no, not really."  
  
"What do you mean by not really?"  
  
"I had no idea, okay?" Kaiba glided over to the policeman and whispered something. They conversed quietly while Jou sat wondering if Kaiba had just called him a Chihuahua. There were going to be a lot more fingernail marks in chairs today, he thought. Jou's temper was on the verge of spilling (it had taken the grand total of five seconds), the policeman turned back to him.  
  
"You say that you bought the allegedly stolen card off a dealer you met on the street?" Jou nodded. "How many cards did you purchase?"  
  
"Just the Tri-Horned Dragon."  
  
"Can you describe this person?"  
  
"I'm not too sure. I was walking home and it was getting kinda dark, plus he was wearing one of them hooded sweaters so I couldn't really see his face."  
  
"The suspect was a male?"  
  
"Yup, around my height, a bit shorter. I think he was an old guy though, cuz I think he had either white or grey hair. That's pretty much it though. Like I said, I couldn't really see him that well." The officer and Kaiba exchanged a few more words.  
  
"Katsuya Jounouchi, we will be conducting a search of your home tomorrow evening at six o'clock. Please cooperate with the police for your convenience and ours. You're free to go now." Jou blinked in surprise.  
  
"Aren't you gonna ask me anymore of them questions? I thought you needed to know more."  
  
"Look, kid," the officer growled, "just get out of here-"  
  
"You have my permission to go," Kaiba cut in.  
  
"Look here, Kaiba. I didn't steal your card and I don't need your 'permission' to go." The two duelists glared at each other in mutual hate.  
  
"You do, and you're lucky you got off so easy. Nobody gets away with taking my things."  
  
"I didn't take nothing! If you want to blame someone, go find the guy that sold the card to me."  
  
"That's exactly what I'm going to do right now, no thanks to your leaky memory. Better get studying for those exams; you're going to need it." With that, Kaiba left the interrogation room, his heels methodically announcing his exit. Seconds later, the door violently banged shut as Jou fumed after the millionaire. The officer was left sitting in the room badly in need of an extra-strength aspirin. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Yami sauntered over to the counter of the Turtle Game Shop with the grace of a cat. His crimson eyes narrowed as he pondered over his day. He had spent it shadowing Ryou, a relatively easy task since the British youth had spent the entire day at home sick with the flu. The game king leaned on the counter, mulling over what he would tell his aibou. The smaller boy would undoubtedly misunderstand his darker side's actions, accusing him of being prejudiced against Ryou because of Yami Bakura. Yami could not deny that there was truth to his hikari's words, but knew not to ignore his intuition. His gut feelings were usually right, whether in a duel or otherwise and they told him that somehow, Bakura was behind both the recent card theft and this morning's break-in. However, he lacked proof. Yami sighed. It would be infinitely easier to challenge Bakura to a Shadow Game to determine the truth but he knew modern-day authorities would discredit his findings no matter what the truth was because they could not accept his methods. Things really have changed in five millennia, mused the former pharaoh. People these days had so little belief in magic and things unexplainable. They could not accept things they could not explain. Or perhaps, they choose not to accept because they lack faith.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by the slight jingling of bells, announcing someone at the door. Yami looked up to see Yuugi struggle in, toss his backpack to one side, then make a sluggish beeline for the counter and curl up fast asleep on the stool. The yami smiled at the sleeping boy. Poor kid, Yuugi was never much of a morning person. Picking up the smaller boy easily, Yami carried him to his room and tucked him into bed. Yuugi snuggled against the pillow and mumbled a sleepy thanks.  
  
Yuugi emerged slowly from sleep to the smell of something burning and a steady stream of Egyptian. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he noted that it was six thirty with a groan, thinking of all the studying he still needed to cram in. After all, exams were in two days. His nose brought him back to more immediate matters. It smelled like something had died in the kitchen and was being cremated. Uttering a prayer, Yuugi opened the door. His eyes immediately began to water as the stench hit him. Through his tears, he could make out a blurry image of his other half wearing a wreath of smoke and attempting to scrape the black remnants of some horribly failed attempt at cooking into the garbage. Seeing the usually poised darkness in an apron and muttering what Yuugi suspected was swearing in Egyptian made the smaller boy do the first thing that came to his mind. Yuugi began to laugh uncontrollably.  
  
"I'll have you know, aibou, I am actually a very good cook," Yami said, not bothering to turn around.  
  
After Yuugi had gotten his laughter under control, both boys cleaned up the mess in the kitchen and ordered a pizza. Apparently, Yami had attempted to boil rice but had decided to use the oven instead of the stove and ended up baking the rice to a radioactive black. The chicken fared no better, as it had suffered a slow grilling directly on top of the stove, barbeque style. The bottom half had stuck to the electric coil, while the top half was still raw. Currently, bits of chicken skin were still clinging to the top of the cooking surface but were being ignored as Yuugi and Yami hungrily dug into the extra-cheese pizza. 


End file.
